Celebrating two hundred years of Scottish art, the RSA’s seventeenth edition of their New Contemporaries exhibition presents a selection of graduate work and, with so wide a variety of artists on show, the curatorial hand comes to the fore (Royal Scottish Academy 2026). Painting holds a prime presence in the hang, yet a number of installation and photographic works on show attest to the depth of the talent pool from which selectors chose.
Key pieces include Sam Black’s FriendshipCircle™ (2025), Rachel Hetherington’s 2D Girl, 3D World (2025), and Finley Morgan’s The Fields of Metal Fences (2025). While these works do not necessarily rise shoulders above the consistently high quality of the show, something undeniable and captivating keeps one returning to each in turn.
Black’s use of form and colour produces electric abstractions in which the narrative of the work is both contained and elevated. Hetherington’s video piece offers a contemporary vision of the self that, while resonating with the feminist video art of the 1970s, brings a fresh interpretation to the evolution from broadcast media to the individualised relationship with media that defines the present moment. Morgan’s paintings, meanwhile, carry the sort of playful social realism that offers hope, even as a darkness runs through them, reflecting the anxieties of the current age.
It’s important to acknowledge, these are personal selections drawn from a thoroughly entertaining show. Nevertheless, there is much to contemplate, and the exhibition stands as an able testament to the future as the RSA steps into its bicentenary year (Royal Scottish Academy 2026).
Info
Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound
Entry £8/£5 concession (Free for RSA Friends)
Please note that the lift in the Royal Scottish Academy is currently out of order and there is no step-free access to the galleries.
For 200 years, we’ve been a champion of knowledge and education in the visual arts. RSA New Contemporaries represents our commitment to supporting and promoting emerging artists and architects in Scotland.
Now in its seventeenth year, it offers a unique opportunity to see some of the most promising talent in Scotland in one single, large-scale exhibition in the heart of Edinburgh. Supported by the RSA Blackadder Houston Bequest and showcasing 64 graduates selected from the 2025 degree shows, the exhibition is the best overview of the current outlook of emerging Scottish art and architecture. The 2026 exhibition is convened by Michael Visocchi RSA, with assistance from his fellow Royal Scottish Academicians, and Architecture Convenor Christopher Platt RSA.
We are delighted to be supported once again by Walter Scott as Exhibition Patron, The Skinny as our Media Partner and to have Glenfiddich as drinks sponsor and a major award giver.
Our Exhibition Patron – Walter Scott & Partners Ltd
Walter Scott provides bespoke equity portfolio management for clients around the world. The firm’s Charlotte Square office in Edinburgh is home to the Walter Scott Art Collection, built with a focus on emerging talent in Scotland. Reflecting that commitment, the firm has been a proud supporter of RSA New Contemporaries since 2013.
22 March – 22 April
RSA Galleries, Royal Scottish Academy
The Mound Edinburgh EH2 2EL
royalscottishacademy.org
Bibliography
Royal Scottish Academy (2026) RSA New Contemporaries 2026. Available at: https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/exhibitions/312-rsa-new-contemporaries-2026/overview/ (Accessed: 15 April 2026).
Royal Scottish Academy (2026) RSA200: Celebrating Together. Available at: https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/rsa200/ (Accessed: 15 April 2026).
Ashenden R. (2026) ‘Turbulent Times: RSA New Contemporaries 2026 preview’, The Skinny, 30 March. Available at: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/art/features/rsa-new-contemporaries-2026 (Accessed: 15 April 2026).
Wood S. (2025) ‘The Royal Scottish Academy at 200: “Part of the shared lifeblood of Scottish culture”‘, The Scotsman, 29 December. Available at: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/art/the-royal-scottish-academy-at-200-part-of-the-shared-lifeblood-of-scottish-culture-5457072 (Accessed: 15 April 2026).
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
